Joe Splawn is a Hammond B3 player and blues singer from North Texas whose life in music began against long odds. Born with serious health complications, Joe has been legally blind since birth. As he was first becoming aware of the limitations the world placed on him, another door opened: on February 9, 1964, he experienced the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. That moment ignited a lifelong passion for music.

Joe began his musical journey as a drummer, playing from ages 11 to 17. He learned to march and play snare drum, developing a deep internal sense of time, discipline, and groove that still defines his musicianship today. Wanting to contribute more fully to songwriting, harmony, and arrangement, he eventually made the pivotal move to keyboards—where he found his true voice.

At 18 years old, Joe headed to Austin, where he played in a band called Blind Wizard (no relation). In the early 1970s, he relocated to Dallas, launching a decade-long stretch on the road that would shape his sound, discipline, and reputation as a working musician. During this period, Joe owned and played virtually every type of keyboard known to man. At one point, he toured with a full arsenal that included a Hammond B3, Minimoog, Story & Clark upright piano, Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, and Mellotron, mastering each instrument and absorbing the language of blues, soul, R&B, and rock.

After roughly ten years on the road, Joe moved to Houston, where he played with Papillion for four years. In 1984, he settled back in his hometown to raise a family, marking a new chapter that balanced life and music without ever stepping away from the stage.

In the years that followed, Joe represented two bands in the International Blues Society Competition, earning local wins and national finalist placements. He continued gigging extensively with respected regional acts including The Texas Blues Runners, Daystar, A.A. Bottom, Lanny Lee Browning (Mercury Records), The Tuna Blues Band, and Lone Star Mojo.

Joe’s career also includes performing with legendary groups such as The Coasters, The Drifters, and The Marvelettes, and opening for artists across multiple genres including Iron Butterfly, Nazareth, Delbert McClinton, Travis Tritt, and Brooks & Dunn—a testament to his versatility and deep musical credibility.

In late 2024, Joe received a call from his son, Shaun, asking him to front The Low Down Blues Band in another run at the International Blues Society’s competition. Shaun flew Joe in, assembled a band from top musicians in the Bristol area, and after a single rehearsal—with a rented Hammond B3—the band won the Smoky Mountain Blues Society’s Battle of the Bands, going on to represent the region at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2025.

Today, Joe Splawn continues to bring a lifetime of blues experience to the stage as a Hammond B3 player and blues singer with Billy Crawford and The Low Down. He speaks often of how grateful he is to be working with this group of musicians, and especially with Billy, whose musicianship, leadership, and respect for the blues have made this chapter of Joe’s career both meaningful and deeply fulfilling. His playing remains soulful, powerful, and rooted in tradition—driven not by flash, but by feel, experience, and heart.